


Guardians

by Pasywasy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 12:17:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pasywasy/pseuds/Pasywasy
Summary: Suguru has to fight past all the beasts and ogres to confess to the prince.





	Guardians

**Author's Note:**

> a gift for raincloud for the valentines exchange !! i hope u like it <3

Today is the day.

Such a nerve-wracking phrase.

It’s after the Neokma v Karasuno match, after the bowing and the cheering, the winning and losing. The emotions. After the lunch break, in which Suguru and Mika went to a nearby restaurant. After the little run-in with Kuroo and his lackeys.

Truthfully, Suguru should’ve hung around where Kuroo was, given that the person he was trying to find would most likely turn up there – but he’d wimped out at the last minute and used Mika as an excuse to turn tail and run. Besides, he doesn’t want to attempt to engage with Kozume anywhere near Kuroo; that’s just asking to be attacked.

But they don’t have much time before the second matches of the day start and Suguru won’t be able to get into the competitor stands, so he has to perform a complicated loop and double back to where he’d run into the cats. Mika is a goddess for putting up with it, honestly. Luck must be on his side, because while he can still see Kuroo’s ugly black hair in the crowd, he’s walking off with his little group while the person he’s looking for is standing in the middle of the hallway.

 

Suguru abruptly stops, digging his heels in and Mika bumps into his back lightly – which almost causes him to overbalance and trip and smash his face into the floor. Great, that would be memorable at least. He could confess before he gets taken away in an ambulance. Ah, confess. Yes. Shit. That’s something he has to do. It’s probably the last time he’ll see or be able to contact Kozume so it definitely has to be today… And not any other time during the year he’d spent pining.

Mika had taken the confession of Suguru’s crush well, and had remained by his side as a close friend because she’s a beautiful, beautiful saint. Though, he would have been happy enough to not confess and regret it for the rest of his life but Mika had given him a Stern Talking To so now not saying anything wasn’t a thing he was allowed to do. He has a feeling Mika might legitimately kill him for it.  
And that’s why he’s here, searching out Kozume with Mika’s support and “gentle” encouragement.

Unfortunately, like he can sense it, Yamamoto – who’s standing next to Kozume – turns around and spots him. His face immediately crumbles into a sneer, his nose scrunched and his lip curled. Aw, kitty’s got claws. Suguru wordlessly simpers at him, making Yamamoto’s face slowly turn red. The focus on something behind them makes Kozume turn around curiously and Suguru’s face wipes carefully blank, blinking at him slowly and innocently. Kozume raises his eyebrows, clearly not buying into Suguru’s shit. Fair enough.

The pair turn around as Suguru, with Mika’s hand on his back pushing him, approaches. Yamamoto’s face struggles between a scowl and a look of confusion, obviously not knowing why Suguru would choose to approach them. Good.

“Good match,” he says, and then winces internally. It had come out in his usual sly tone, which obviously Yamamoto is taking as a dig at their loss with how his face is contorting into rage. Kozume just looks unimpressed.

Yamamoto opens his mouth to say something, probably gearing up for a fight, but Mika, in all her infinite wisdom, cuts in smoothly. “It was very impressive,” she agrees, saving Suguru’s life with four words. Suguru thinks that if she knew more about volleyball, she’d be making pointed compliments about Yamamoto’s form or something. It’s clear she’s onto something when Yamamoto’s mouth shuts with a loud click and he turns to her, eyes wide and cheeks starting to pink. Suguru wants to roll his eyes to the sky. Kozume’s eyes actually do. Suguru has to put his hand over his face to muffle a snort.

“Thank you,” Yamamoto manages to stutter out and Kozume coughs lightly, looking away. Yamamoto’s face gets redder when Mika smiles at him and Suguru has to laugh. Which of course turns the boy’s attention back to him. Damn it. Yamamoto’s face is obviously fighting a sneer, too conscious of the presence of a pretty girl by Suguru’s side, despite how much he dislikes Suguru.

It’s so cute, Suguru wants to taunt him some more, but the moment he opens his mouth, he remembers what he’s here for. It probably wouldn’t look good if he started a fight with Kozume’s friend in front of him, right? Now Suguru looks like a dumbass, shutting his mouth without saying anything.

And then, what is he supposed to say? Obviously, he has to talk to Kozume, but there’s no way he’s saying anything in front of Yamamoto. The guy looks like he’d try and strangle Suguru for just looking at his friend. Well, he looks like he wants to strangle Suguru in general, which is pretty fair honestly. So, he has to separate them somehow…

In that second it becomes obvious to him how it has to happen and he glances at Mika, who looks at him and they share that single thought. ‘I’ll remember your sacrifice,’ he thinks as he watches Mika turn back to Yamamoto with a small bashful (fake) smile. 

Suguru glances at Kozume as Mika tells Yamamoto something about forgetting where something is and needing someone (a.k.a. specifically him) to show her where it is. Suguru’s sure it’s the most incredible display of acting and flirting but he’s not really sure he can watch that any longer. Instead, he watches Kozume, who’s watching Yamamoto’s face get redder and more nervous each time Mika smiles at him.  
Yamamoto looks between Kozume and Suguru a few times, frowning, obviously trying to ask Kozume silently if he’ll be okay left alone with the scary rival captain but Kozume just looks at his friend, blankly, not reacting to his desperate attempts to communicate telepathically. Eventually Yamamoto gives in and leads Mika away – although its more like Mika leading him away – and Suguru is left alone with the smaller boy.  
Suguru turns to Kozume, who’s watching Yamamoto being led away until he notices he’s being watched. The moment they make proper eye contact, Suguru’s heart stutters in his chest. He feels like Kozume instantly knows everything that he’s thinking, those eyes piercing past is own and into his mind and that’s about as terrifying as it is cool.

“Uh…” Suguru starts, fumbling for something to say. Great start. He could not possibly look any less cool than he does right now. Kozume blinks slowly at him. Suguru hopes his face isn’t turning red.  
Before Suguru can do or say anything, a new voice rings out and suddenly Kozume is scooped up. With no other warning than a shout, that sounds more like a squawk, Kozume’s encased in large arms, one large hand ruffling his hair. Kozume looks distinctly put out but does nothing to stop Bokuto from aggressively cuddling him.

“That was a great game!” Bokuto calls loudly, almost directly into Kozume’s ear, “I kept looking over while I was on the court, it was so cool!”

Akaashi serenely follows behind Bokuto, echoing the statement in his own quiet way to Kozume, whose cheeks are a little pink from all the excitement and he thanks them quietly. Once that’s over, Akaashi’s gaze zeroes in on Suguru who jolts a little. He swears he can feel himself sweat under that intense look, and if he felt like Kozume could read his mind just by looking at him, he feels like Akaashi’s picking him apart piece by piece until he’s laid bare. Terrifying.

And then Bokuto rounds on him. “Daisshou-san!” He greets loudly, getting his name a little wrong but that’s fine… Suguru barely gets out a greeting before Bokuto’s talking about how he wished they had played against each other during preliminaries. And honestly? It’s a little bit flattering. A small pool of pride wells up in Suguru’s chest although he tamps it down as much as possible. Letting any emotion show on his face feels like a death sentence around the combined insight of Kozume and Akaashi.

Speaking of.  
“So why are you two together?” Akaashi asks smoothly, standing behind Bokuto and next to Kozume. Suguru barely represses a strangled noise. He knew Akaashi and Kenma were friends, or at least acquaintances, but he feels like he’s being judged and about to be deemed unworthy. And then, Akaashi’s got Bokuto on his side, so if he sayd something along the lines of Suguru doing anything negative to Kozume, Suguru’s pretty sure he’d end up on the bad end of those biceps. Bokuto clearly adores Kozume too, judging on that greeting. God, he really can’t fuck up here or his neck is on the line.  
Kozume shrugs in answer and Akaashi’s eyes narrow directly at Suguru. This is it. This is the moment he dies.

“Akaashi!” Bokuto crows, completely missing what’s going on between everyone and swinging his arm around Akaashi’s shoulders. “We gotta go to our game!” He cheers. Yes, that game they’re supposed to be watching soon… He’s gotta wrap this up fast. Bokuto says his goodbyes and drags Akaashi off who glares at Suguru over his shoulder. He hopes he’s never left alone with Akaashi, especially if he ever actually manages to talk to Kozume at least once (1).

“Ah, the Fukurodani game,” Suguru starts, turning back to Kozume who looks pretty unaffected by the whole thing. “Before you go, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.” He says, just a little awkwardly. But it seems to catch Kozume’s interest and he turns to Suguru properly, a little shine in his eyes that causes Suguru’s heart to beat faster in his chest. “Somewhere else?” He suggests, walking closer to Kozume and hovering a hand over his shoulder like he’s going to lead him away, but not actually touching him in case that makes Kozume uncomfortable. Kozume goes with it easily, walking in the same direction that Suguru leads them.

Unfortunately, it seems he’s picked the wrong direction. Because not a few minutes of walking later someone else calls out Kozume’s name.

And it’s the terrible twosome. All of a sudden there’s something small and orange leaping all up in Kozume’s space. Hadn’t they talked after the game? Why are they here now? They, because something tall dark and grumpy seems to have followed Hinata. Suguru makes accidental eye contact with Kageyama and his shoulders immediately stiffen. Kageyama and Kozume don’t know each other right? This isn’t another low-key threat about being nice to Kozume, is it? Kageyama glances at Kozume and Hinata talking together and his face smooths out from the resting bitch face. Oh no. Another person that Suguru has to watch out for if he manages to actually date Kozume. At this point he’s not even sure he’ll get there.

“Who are you?” Hinata chirps brightly, turning to Suguru. Suguru opens his mouth to answer, but Kozume cuts in smoothly.

“He’s the captain of one of our rival high school teams,” Kozume answers quietly. Hm… Is Suguru pleased about Kozume introducing him like that? Maybe one day Kozume will say ‘he’s my boyfriend’ instead. Suguru almost zones out, thinking about that particular happy daydream but it gets interrupted by Hinata, demanding to know more, and Kageyama butting in, demanding to know which position he plays (and becoming somewhat uninterested when Suguru reveals he’s not a setter).

Suguru fields their questions with stunning grace and thinly veiled insults as usual. Soon enough though, the boys are called away because they have another match soon, too, and Kozume promises to watch, smiling softly at Hinata as he turns to go.

“I’m gonna play against you too, some day!” Hinata calls at Suguru. And just for a moment, there’s a flicker of something in his eyes that makes Suguru feel small and hunted. But then it’s gone and Suguru’s left with a little tremble in his hands.

 

“Anyway,” he says, lightly tapping at Kozume’s back to get them moving again. Jeez, Yamamoto, Akaashi and Bokuto, the wonder twins over there, who’s next, Yaku?  
God please don’t let Suguru run into Yaku while he’s with Kozume. Yaku will probably just drag Kozume away before he gets to say anything.

Eventually they manage to get to a secluded corner of the hallway, tucked behind a couple of pillars and now… Now Suguru actually, really has to say it. Damn, he would almost prefer being interrupted by more of Kozume’s scary, threatening friends but there’s a few seconds of silence between them and nothing happens. Kozume watches him patiently, although Suguru’s sure his patience will dry up pretty fast. He has a couple of matches to watch, after all, and Suguru wants to watch them too.

Suguru looks away, rubbing at the back of his head in a nervous habit, trying to think of a way to word it. Obviously, he’s usually great with his words but this requires a little more… Honesty.  
“This is the last time we’ll meet, so… I was hoping…” Suguru starts. No, that sounds a little too vulnerable. Even if he was okay appearing vulnerable, he’s pretty sure Kozume wouldn’t have any interest in someone like that. “That is, can I have your contact?” He asks, trying to appear a bit more confident. Looking Kozume in the eye. Looking at his large, pretty, golden eyes. Damn. Suguru thinks his heart skips a beat when Kozume blinks slowly, his eyelashes fanning over his cheek before his eyes open again. Did he do that on purpose? He’ll be the death of Suguru, one way or another.

Kozume’s face starts to move, his eyes narrowing, brows pinching down and his mouth pressing together. “Hey, it’s not a prank,” Suguru protests, almost a whine. Kozume’s face smooths out into surprise, maybe at Suguru having caught the light suspicion in his expression without the other having to say anything.

“If it was a joke, wouldn’t I do it in front of an audience or something?” he tries to explain. Although he hasn’t really thought about it – would he? He’d never attempt to make a joke out of Kozume, he’d probably be ripped to shreds. Not in the fun way either. “This isn’t about Kuroo either, I don’t want him to hear.” Suguru continues to explain. Most people, and probably Kozume, would expect him to approach Kozume to get at Kuroo with how he usually acts. And he might have tried that, once, if he didn’t have a killer crush on Kozume and also didn’t respect how vicious the smaller boy could get.

“What don’t you want Kuroo to hear?” A loud voice butts in right near his ear.

Fuck.  
Suguru’s face crumbles into a scowl and he glances over his shoulder at the one and only Kuroo Tetsurou glaring at him, sliding himself neatly between Kozume and Suguru. Damn it. The biggest, most annoying person to get past to get to Kozume. Yamamoto’s nothing, and Akaashi is intimidating, but Kuroo’s stubborn, persistent, and unfortunately, respected and adored by Kozume. If Kuroo told Kozume not to talk to him…

“None of your business,” Suguru blurts out, hating that thought that just crossed his head. He doesn’t want to lose contact with Kozume here, this is probably his last chance.  
Kuroo regards him suspiciously, before wrapping his hand around Kozume’s wrist and starting to tug him away. “Then I suppose if there’s nothing going on, we can leave.” Suguru grits his teeth, trying to form a plan to catch Kozume again before the day’s over already.

“Wait, Kuro,” Kozume says suddenly, digging his heels in and jolting them to a stop. “Wait for me over there, would you?” he asks. Kuroo doesn’t look particularly happy about it, glaring at Suguru like he’s trying to murder him with his eyes. He’s not usually so hostile to Suguru, but Suguru can take a mighty guess as to why. Something along the lines of ‘do anything bad to my best friend and I’ll murder you’. Suguru would say he doesn’t plan on hurting Kozume at all, ever, but that would be revealing way too much.

Instead, Suguru just smiles sweetly at him and wriggles his fingers in a wave as Kuro stalks off. When he turns back, Kozume’s looking at him amused and Suguru smiles a little sheepishly.  
“What were you saying?” Kozume prompts, tilting his head in a way that’s way too cute for Suguru to be able to handle right now.

Uh… What was he saying? “I was trying to ask you on a date-“ Wait. “Wait, no. I was asking for your number.” He hurries to explain. Shit. He’s fucked up. “Your email, or something. Actually, never mind I have to go now.” Suguru’s about to slip past Koume and make a very brave run for it but Kozume steps into his space, putting a hand up that hovers just over Suguru’s tummy, fingertips barely brushing his shirt. Suguru stiffens, stopping immediately, heart in his throat at the mere suggestion Kozume would put a hand on him.

And then he makes the mistake of glancing into Kozume’s eyes again and he’s caught. He blinks dumbly at the other, watching Kozume look at him, seeing himself in the reflection of the other’s eyes, seeing the light play across the gold and the greens. And a small smile flickers onto Kozume’s face for a moment.

Nice. Suguru made him smile.

“Give me your phone?” Kozume asks, voice a little sweeter than normal and Suguru knows he’s being played with but he’ll step right into the trap if he could see Kozume smile again. He hands his phone over, unlocked, just staring dumbly at the other’s face. He hopes desperately there’s nothing incriminating on his phone. He hadn’t texted Mika about his big, stupid crush, had he? Suguru watches Kozume’s face intently for any hint of him finding something bad, but no emotion flickers onto the other’s face and after a few minutes of Kozume tapping on his phone, it’s handed back. Their fingers don’t brush, and for the sake of Suguru’s poor overworked heart, it’s glad for it.

He glances down momentarily to see Kozume’s sent what Suguru assumes is Kozume’s number a message, only to be confirmed by the chiming noise coming from Kozume’s pocket. Is that the pokemon centre healing noise? That’s so cute.

“Text me, then.” Kozume says and Suguru nods, immediately. “I’d like to hear about this date you were supposed to be asking me out on,” he adds slyly, his face turning mischievous. He brushes past Suguru as he leaves, making his way back to Kuroo and to the match, presumably.

Suguru doesn’t know, he didn’t watch, he’s busy staring at the space Kozume just vacated. He’s dead, he’s ascended to heaven. There’s no way he’d survive a date with Kozume if he’s this useless after saying a total of about five things to him. Oh no… He hadn’t even confessed. Mika’s going to kill him. Kuroo’s going to kill him. Yamamoto probably wants to kill him as soon as he hears about this too.  
Well, at least Kozume smiled at him, so… Worth it.


End file.
